Marriages of Gay Military Members Won't Be Recognized

As several news outlets have reported, even with the demise of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, LGBT service members will still be second class citizens. Why? Because their marriages even when conducted in states that allow full marriage will not be recognized by the armed services because of the noxious federal Defense of Marriage Act. As a result, they and their spouses will not receive the benefits that other married service members receive and their marriages will be ignored when it comes to deployments and reassignments. All so hate filled, prejudiced extremists like Maggie Gallagher and Elaine Donnelly - and, of course, other Bible thumpers - can act sanctimonious and feel better about their sorry selves. DOMA is clearly unconstitutional under both the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution not to mention that it's government sanctioned religious based discrimination. Here are highlights from Yahoo News:
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SAN DIEGO – Gay service members from Army soldiers to Air Force officers are planning to celebrate the official end of the military's 17-year policy that forced them to hide their sexual orientation with another official act — marriage.
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A 27-year-old Air Force officer from Ohio said he can't wait to wed his partner of two years and slip on a ring that he won't have to take off or lie about when he goes to work each day once "don't ask, don't tell" is repealed. He plans to wed his boyfriend, a federal employee, in Washington D.C. where same-sex marriages are legal.
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"I owe it to him and myself," the officer said of getting married. "I don't want to do it in the dark. I think that taints what it's supposed to be about — which is us, our families, and our government."
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But in the eyes of the military the marriage will not be recognized and the couple will still be denied most of the benefits the Defense Department gives to heterosexual couples to ease the costs of medical care, travel, housing and other living expenses.
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The Pentagon says the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage for federal program purposes as a legal union between a man and woman — prohibits the Defense Department from extending those benefits to gay couples, even if they are married legally in certain states.
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That means housing allowances and off-base living space for gay service members with partners could be decided as if they were living alone. Base transfers would not take into account their spouses. If two gay service members are married to each other they may be transferred to two different states or regions of the world. For heterosexual couples, the military tries to avoid that from happening.
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Gay activists and even some commanders say the discrepancy will create a two-tier system in an institution built on uniformity.
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Let's be blunt: DOMA is a modern day version of the Jim Crow laws that had one underlying goal - to punish a disliked minority and deprive them of full citizenship. Those who support DOMA might just as well be honest about their prejudice and don Klan robes because they are no different than Klan members.